


Finding Home

by thecompletebookworm



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 4 year old Bae, F/M, Mantis Menagerie Fic Exchange, Spinner!Rum, The Enchanted Forest, anti Gaston, anti milah, aquatic animal fic, mostly before Milah left, selkie!Belle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 23:36:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6928996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecompletebookworm/pseuds/thecompletebookworm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For ethereal-wishes, who prompted aquatic creature.  It seemed no matter what form she was in, Belle was unable to stop herself from being the hero and helping someone in need.  But this rescue gives her much more than she bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ethereal-wishes](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ethereal-wishes).



> This Mantis Menagerie fic is for the ever wonderful ethereal-wishes who was especially understanding of my lack of internet. I used a variety of Selkie mythology. I think mainly a mix of Scottish and Icelandic tales. (The term selkie is Scottish). 
> 
> Selkie: a mythical creature that resembles a seal in the water but assumes human form on land.

Belle inched closer to the shore than she would have typically dared (or to be entirely truthful, closer than her father allowed). But it was already beginning to get dark; she had nothing to fear if she didn’t leave the water. If she really had heard a scream, she didn’t have time to be thinking about danger anyway.

The water was much shallower here. It couldn’t be more than four feet deep. Was it an animal scream or a human one? Shallow enough to beach upon the shore, but deep enough to cause trouble for the smallest of humans. Belle had her answer when she saw the tuft of brown hair just below the surface.  

She dove down. The child’s lips were already beginning to turn blue.   He didn’t have her protective blubber that made these chill waters feel warm and yet he was no longer shivering. It had been too long since she had last heard the scream, too long since he had gone other, since he last breathed.

Belle tried to use the tip of her snout to push the boy to the surface, but he moved only inches before she lost her balance. He was too heavy and his tunic had caught on the dock.   Her small seal body wouldn’t be able to handle this. She’d need hands to free him and carry him to shore. Belle swam away to give herself some momentum and forced herself up on to the dock. It took only moments to slide her sealskin off and lay it down. She had no time to think of the danger it was in, out in the open. A little boy was drowning and she wasn’t going to let him die just because it wasn’t safe for her.   Heroes make sacrifices.

 She jumped. It was slow moving to the boy, or at least it felt slow. Belle was moving as fast as she could in this body, but it still felt like she was getting nowhere, the water offering far too much resistance. Luckily, he was close, probably had only slipped off the edge of the dock.   Her hands found the edge of the tunic that was keeping him trapped and ripped it away.

 She lifted him as gently as she could out of the water, trying not to hurt him as she walked toward shore. Her legs shook with the effort but the sea lent her strength.   Soon enough, she had the boy laid on the sand, turning him on his side to let some of the water out. Hopefully he would start coughing soon, clear his lungs of the seawater. She knew Ariel had a book on human biology and healing, but Belle hadn’t had time to read it, much less wanted to read about her mother’s killers.   She wished she had now though. Anything to make-

He was coughing. Belle let out a sigh of relief, thanking all the gods she knew. He tiredly looked around, a faint voice calling, “PAPA!!!”  

“Shhhh, it’s okay. I’ll get you back to your Papa.”

The boy looked at Belle, only truly seeing her now. “Who’re you?” he asked, his deep brown eyes clouded with worry.

She gave him a sweet smile. “My name is Belle. What’s yours?”

“Papa said not to talk to strangers.”

 She let out a laugh.   “That’s a very good Papa you have. It really isn’t a good idea to talk to strangers, but I think he would be okay with this time. I’d like to get you home and I can’t do that if you don’t tell me anything. Little boys really shouldn’t be out after dark.”

The boy tried to stand up, “I can get home all by myself; I’m a big boy, Mama said so.” His legs failed him after only a few steps, struggling to survive in the water had taken all the strength out of him.  

“Would it be okay if I carried you home? I pinky promise I will bring you straight to your Papa,” Belle offered out her smallest finger.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? Mama always lies. What if you’re like Mama?”   

His response tore at Belle’s heartstrings, but she was quick to reassure him. “I’m the person who got you out of the water.”

He didn’t look convinced, digging his toes deep into the sand.

“How about I let you hold on to something I care about a lot while I bring you back? That way I can only have it back if I bring you home safely.”

“Like a trade?” The little boy pushed his wet brown hair away from his face. “My Papa’s makes trades for his thread. I think a trade with a stranger would be okay.”     He offered out his hand and they shook, Belle’s hand almost completely covering his.

“Good. Just wait here. I’ll be right back.”  

Belle darted out on to the dark, feeling in the darkness for her pelt. There was nothing but joy as she felt it, hugging it to her chest and walking back toward the little boy. She didn’t like letting anyone else hold it, but it was better than just leaving it here and hoping.  

The boy looked skeptically at the fur in her arms and she had to admit it couldn’t look like much.  

“Now,” she offered it to him, refusing to show him how much this cost her,   “how do I get you home,” Belle paused realizing he’d never actually given her his name.

“Baelfire, my name’s Baelfire, but my Papa calls me Bae.”

“All right, Bae,” she nodded toward the skin, wanting nothing more to wrap it safely around her, but this was most likely the only way the boy would trust her enough to let her bring him home.

 Bae’s small hands grabbed it. Belle felt the pressure in her head immediately. Even though he had no idea the power he held in his hands, Belle was bound to the land until he returned it to her.

“What’s so special about this? It’s just seal skin,” he examined it before wrapping it around his shoulders. “I mean it’s warm, but why is this so important to you.”

“Let’s just say it’s my way home. Bae,” she scooped him up into her arms, feeling some relief where her skin touches her, “where am I going to make sure you get home?”

He giggled, at once sounding his age, “We live on the edge of the village.” Looking at her confusion, Bae gave more specific directions, “Turn left here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle meets Bae's Papa and runs into a very unpleasant villager. (Violent Gaston warning)

Belle was mere steps into the village proper when she heard the shouts.

“BAE! BAE!” They were anguished, call after call. Some seemed to dissolve into sobs but the voice kept calling.

The little boy wiggled in her arms until she set him down. Bae sprinted away in the direction of the voice. To her dismay, he kept the sealskin wrapped tightly around his shoulders.   She watched it get further and further away, unable to move, just frozen in fear. This was the farthest Belle had ever ventured ashore and her heart was beating far too quickly, in fear, but also excitement. She took a deep breath. This was a do the brave thing and bravery would follow sort of thing; she slowly followed him, keeping to the shadows of the village.  

Belle had only made it a few cottages down, before a door swung open. The drunken man gave her a dazed look.

“What’s yer name princess?” The alcohol reeked off his breath. “Never seen you ‘round before.”

Belle tried to ignore him, planning to just keep walking until she found Bae and could get her seal skin back. The man seemed to have other ideas; he swaggered over to her and slammed a muscled arm into the wall, effectively cornering her.

“Name’s Gaston.” He leaned closer, as if her opinion of him should have changed at that.

It hadn’t. Belle considered her options, duck under his arm, fight back, close her eyes and hope that this would all just go away.   None of them would work.

If Gaston was a shark, she would have disoriented him was an attack to the nose before swimming as fast as she could in the other direction. But Gaston was a man, not a shark. Besides Bae, Belle had never interacted with a human before.   She didn’t know their weaknesses, their customs. She didn’t trust her legs to be able to get her away either. Even in his state, Gaston knew his way around this village, knew how to run better than she did. She was easy pickings to him.

“I expect an answer Princess and it better be the one I want.”   His words were slurring worse now. Maybe she just had to wait until he passed out, too debilitated from drink to continue.   Belle squeezed her eyes shut, willing this to end quickly.

“I expect you to look at me when I’m talking to you!”

A hand struck her cheek and Belle’s eyes shot open. Gaston glared at her, one hand snaking up her body to her neck.  

“We gonna cooperate Princess, ‘cuz as I see it, you ain’t got nothing here for you. I can take what I like.”

The hand tightened around her throat.

 “Belle,” she choked out, “My name is Belle.” 

The hand stopped applying pressure, but it didn’t move.   His eyes seemed to cross as he stared down at her.   “See, was that so hard?”   Gaston loomed over her, preventing her from seeing anything else.  

She couldn’t stop herself from crying. This was too much. If she got out of this, she promised, she’d never leave the sea again, she just couldn’t.

 Belle heard the crack before she realized what happened. Gaston slipped sideways, his nails leaving a shallow cut on her neck. An older man stood where he once stood, a wooden walking staff raised in the air.   Bae was clinging to the man’s waist, his face buried in the man’s back, the sealskin trailing behind him on the ground. Her hands flew to her throat, needing the tactile confirmation of what had just happened, of how Bae’s Papa saved her.  

 “Thank you,” the two adults said at the same time.

 Bae peeked up at Belle and then at the unconscious Gaston, before hugging Belle tightly.   “I’m sorry I left.”

 “It’s fine. This isn’t your fault Bae. You were just happy to see your Papa.”

 The little boy shook his head dejectedly, “No I’m a big boy.   I could have protected you.”  

 The boy’s father frowned and knelt as far as he could with his bad ankle to get closer to Bae’s eye level. “Who told you that Bae?”

 “Mama,” Bae said the word slowly and solemnly, watching his father’s face the entire time he said it. “She said it before she told me to leave her be.”   Bae clenched his hands into fists, before mockingly saying, “that I was a big boy. I could handle myself now, without her.”   Tears started leaking out of the little boy’s eyes.

 The man reached out for his son and he held him tightly against his chest. “Shhh, Bae it’s alright. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you. Mama was right about one thing. You’re growing up very fast, turning into a bigger boy, but that doesn’t mean you’re done growing, or that you’re done needing me, or I’m done needing you. I don’t know what I would do without you, Bae. I need you to be careful, for my sake if nothing else. No getting in fights or walking on the docks alone. What would I have done if this woman hadn’t been able to save you? I’d have a big Bae sized hole in my life where you were supposed to be.”  

Belle wanted to do nothing short of disappearing. This was a very personal conversation that she had no right being a part of. But she couldn’t do that, not with her pelt clutched in Bae’s hand.

So, she examined the two. Bae was only up to the man’s waist, despite the man being only a few inches taller than her. The father’s hair might have been Bae’s shade of brown when he was younger, but now it was dappled with grey.   His eyes were the deep brown of new earth. He was handsome and there was something very calming about him, although that might just have been Belle projecting how he had just saved her on his appearance.

Finally, the two turned to her. The man kept one hand on his son and one hand on his cane. He nodded once and Bae offered her skin out to her. A surge of warmth spread through her body as she held it once again. She felt tears coming again, although this time it was out of joy not fear.  

 “Thank you,” Bae said, before stepping away from his Papa to give her another hug. “Do you have to leave to go home now?”  

Belle kissed the top of the boy’s head. “I have to go home soon. I have my own Papa who’s probably going to look for me soon.”  

 “But it’s dark now, how are you supposed to get home? You’re not from around here. I’ve never seen you before; I’d have remembered. Papa said never to travel after dark.”

 She looked at the man giving him a small smile. While his rules were very good at keeping Bae safe, it seemed they kept getting in the way of the easiest way for Belle to do things. He gave her an apologetic shrug, before saying anything.

“That rule Bae is for curious little four year olds, who will go on to break it anyways. I’m sure Miss-“ 

He paused and glanced at her.

“Belle,” she supplied readily.

“Belle knows the way home easily and if we can help her we will. But right now, we should be getting home too, hopefully before Mama does. I was too worried about you to actually but the stew on for supper.   Imagine my surprise when you’re not at the house and not at the tavern with Mama when I returned from market.”   The man’s tone got more scolding by the second and Bae hung his head in guilt.  

Belle reached her hand out to the man, who she still did not know the name of, knowing he was speaking out of worry and fear, not with the aim to chastise his son. “I think he’s learned his lesson, sir.”

The man looked at her as if he wasn’t seeing her.   “Rumplestiltskin.”

Her confusion must have shown on her face.

He offered her a smile, “My name is Rumplestiltskin. After my time in the army, can’t say I particularly like sir.”  

“Sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.   You didn’t know. Like Bae said, you’re not from around here.”

Looking into Rumplestiltskin’s sad eyes and the excited face of Baelfire, Belle couldn’t help wishing that she were.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumplestiltskin and Bae wonder about the mysterious woman who saved him and deal with problems at home.

“She’s not coming back.” Rumplestiltskin knew the words had to be said. Bae wasn’t going to admit it for himself.

For weeks, he’d spoken of nothing but the woman who had saved him from the sea. Every morning before Milah was awake, and most nights when she was at the tavern, the pair wandered along the shore. There was no sign of her. If Rumplestiltskin had not felt her hand himself, he would have thought she was just a fantasy, some guardian angel that had saved Bae.   Still, guardian angels didn’t typically have to deal with the town drunk. It was that thought that let him share in Bae’s childish hope that they would see her again.  

Bae would pay him no mind. He would only shout, running as far out into the water as he was allowed, proclaiming she was here.   There was only ever a spotted seal, not Belle. The seal would bump its snout against Bae, roll over like a dog for him to scratch its stomach.

Once when Rumple was staring at the two as they played, the seal used a flipper to splash the water at him. Its blue eyes laughed at him and he couldn’t help but step into the water to join them. The cool water soothed his throbbing ankle. He responded, as best he could; hands weren’t meant to hold water the way flippers were. The seal was able to dart out of the way and come back behind him to send another splash with her tail.   Bae laughed, running through the water attempting to splash the seal back. To Rumplestiltskin’s amazement, the seal stayed where it was and let the water hit her squarely in the face. Bae giggled as he made his way back to his Papa.

“Belle’s letting me win,” he glanced toward the seal as he continued, “Which isn’t fair as I could win all by myself.”

 The seal let out a bark that was almost unmistakably a laugh.

 Rumplestiltskin chuckled along with her, and although he felt silly, he tried talking to the seal like Bae did, “I let him win too.”

 “You do not!” Bae gave him a pouting look before sinking down, keeping his head above water, but letting the rest of his body just float behind him 

“The seal and I are experts of course we let you win,” Rumple said, moving over to watch Bae more carefully.

“Stop doing that!”

Rumplestiltskin stopped his slow moments toward Bae, but that didn’t rid his son of the sad look on his face. “Doing what?” 

“Calling her the seal.”

 Rumplestiltskin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “That Bae is a seal.”

“No it’s Belle.” Bae placed his hands on his hips, with a mock stern expression on his face, only to start wildly giggly when Belle the seal bumped into him.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. The boy was always so stubborn, just like he was if he was being honest with himself. Bae was convinced that this seal was Belle the woman who had saved him that night.   Rumplestiltskin had to admit there was something very human about the way the seal looked at them; it was the closest thing he’d seen to love in any animal’s eyes. Her bright blue eyes spoke of humor and intelligence. His boy could wish the seal was Belle all he wanted; this wasn’t a fairytale. People couldn’t just change into sea mammals.

* * *

 If Rumplestiltskin went home now, he’d have to see the despair on Bae’s face and know it was all his fault.   He hadn’t been strong enough to fight the pirate and now Milah was going to pay the price for it. Well, Milah and their son.

Baelfire was without a mother in a village that scorned his father as a coward. There was no place for him here, but Rumplestiltskin loved his son too much, was too selfish to try and give him a better home with someone else. They couldn’t move. There was no way of knowing if the next town over needed a spinner until they got there, and it would be impossible for him to move his spinning wheel even if his ankle hadn’t been shattered in order to avoid the war.  

He hoped the sea and the happy memories of playing with Bae here would be enough to calm him. But right now, the waves pounding on the shore did nothing except remind him of the pirate that had kidnapped Milah. He regretted coming here until he felt the soft touch on his shoulder.

“Did something happen to Bae?” There was so much sadness and longing in her tone that he prevented himself from jumping in shock. The woman, Belle, was standing in front of him, in the same simple gray dress, her brown curls slightly damp, her beauty radiating off her. She spoke as if she never left.

“Rumplestiltskin!”

He liked the way his name seemed to roll off her tongue. It just seemed to belong there. Seeing her impatient expressions, he took a deep breath and began telling his tale. 

“I have bad news that is going to destroy Bae and it’s all my fault. I couldn’t stop it.”  

She wrapped an arm around him and he leaned into the embrace. “I’m sure it wasn’t as much your fault as you think it is. What happened?”  

The words spilled out of him. It didn’t seem to matter that Rumplestiltskin had met this woman only once before. His mind was going a million miles an hour, with the only constant being he needed to be strong for Bae.   But right now, there was no use being strong, it was just Belle. She never scolded him or rolled her eyes or show him that she really didn’t care. Belle only sat there, nodding, giving encouraging smiles and gasping at all the right moments.

When Rumplestiltskin began telling her of Hook’s challenge, she scooted off the rock they were sharing and on to the sand. Belle lifted his aching ankle into her lap. At first the pressure was painful, but some of the tightness seemed to fall away at her touch, almost like magic.  

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Belle smiled brightly up at him. “Of course.”

His heart lurched forward.   Rumplestiltskin couldn’t remember a time that it’d done that for anyone besides Bae. A smile shouldn’t be able to do that to a person. But it was her smile and it was perfect just like the rest of her.

“Can you stay with me? Just for the night?” The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he was asking them.  

Saying she was shocked was the polite way to put it. The poor woman started frantically looking toward the sea and toward a spot a little further down the beach. What had he been thinking? What was she thinking now? Belle probably thought he was a disgusting old man. He rushed to explain his question.

“It’s just you feel so calm, like home, and Bae will be so happy to see you and I don’t think I can do this alone. I can’t break down in front of him. How am I supposed to tell him that even though his mother was neglectful and an alcoholic, she loved him but now she’s dead?   He won’t understand and I just-”

His train of thought was interrupted by one hand running its way through his hair and the other cupping his cheek gently. Her blue eyes stared at him intently, a mix of wonder and sadness held in her gaze. “My friend Ariel says a kiss can fix anything. I don’t think I believe her. But it seems like you need a lot of fixing right now.”  

Rumplestiltskin couldn’t think of why someone would want to kiss him. Milah hadn’t in ages, unless she was using it to get what she wanted.   So why was Belle offering? Why did it seem like this beautiful woman cared about him?

“May I?” She sounded as timid as he felt. She started to pull her hands away at the lack of response, thinking her advance wasn’t welcome.

He groaned, leaning into it more, not realizing how starved for human touch that didn’t come from Bae until this moment.   “Please.” The word couldn’t have been more than a whisper, but somehow she heard it.

Her lips pressed against his and it felt like lightning or a sunset or… Rumplestiltskin’s mind trailed off, unable to think as long as her lips were on his. She was sunshine and the warm ocean breeze and perfect that was really the only word to describe the sensation, perfect.   The kiss was over all too soon. He felt himself following her as she pulled away.

“I don’t think Ariel knew what she was talking about.”

Rumplestiltskin let out a laugh, even though earlier that night he’d thought he wouldn’t be laughing any time soon. “That’s a lie. I’m almost fixed.”

“Only almost?” Belle seemed to catch the teasing lilt to his voice.

“Of course. I need another, as many as you can give me.”

Belle blushed and ducked her head. “You’re quite the kisser yourself.”  

He could feel his hopes rising. “Does that mean you’ll stay?”

“Just let me grab something first.” Belle darted down the beach toward a spot with more rocks and some moss. She brushed the debris aside and picked up her sealskin.   She held it close as she nearly ran back to him.

Rumplestiltskin was beyond confused. “Is that the skin Bae was holding on the night you found us?”

“I told him it was my way home,” she said as if that solved everything.

It didn’t. “How?”

Belle glanced around, making sure the beach was completely deserted. She stepped away from him, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn’t do anything rash. Belle didn’t think he would. She had spent too much time watching him, playing with him and Bae in the waves, slowly falling in love with him. Belle didn’t believe he would do anything rash, but she had to be sure.

Rumplestiltskin had no idea what she was doing. Belle held the sealskin above her head, giving him one last smile before dropping it on top of her, but the pelt didn’t behave normally. Instead of simply falling, it was shaking, the skin attaching itself to her until there was only the speckled seal that had played games in the water with Bae.

“Belle?” The words were both a question and a prayer. He had to make sure she was real, that he wouldn’t lose her too.

Belle the seal gave a happy little bark before the shaking started again and a very human Belle was sitting in the sand.   She looked at him expectantly. Rumplestiltskin didn’t know if he was only imagining the tears in her eyes, but he still scooped her into his arms to hug her, leaning on her for support.

“I thought you needed to know.” Her voice was shaky, holding so much doubt.

Rumplestiltskin smiled, “I’m glad I do. It makes the worries that I only met you twice go away. It seemed strange to feel like I was in love with someone I just met.”

“Love,” she repeated the word in awe.

“Aye, Belle, love or at least as close to love as I’ve had.”

She rose on her tiptoes to give him a kiss, her arms still wrapped tightly around him in the hug he started. “Me too. I love you Rumplestiltskin.”

“So will you spend the night?”

“There isn’t much night left,” she giggled as she gestured to the pale pink just creeping over the horizon.

“Still would be better with you.”

Belle couldn’t help but agree with that.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last hitch in their plans. TW: Gaston being violent and crud

Belle hadn't been able to see the man peaking out of the boat, bobbing on the water.   He was too far away, and Belle's focus truly wasn't on anything but Rumplestiltskin. But he had seen her and that would make all the difference. 

Gaston had lost a bet. It was the only reason he was out so early on his boat. Typically he'd send Lefou to get ready for the day. But instead he'd been sitting facing the shore, first drink of the day already in his hand, as Belle transformed into a seal right before his very eyes. Any lesser (and frankly saner) man would have realized how impossible a thing that was.

But Gaston's father had told him stories, the stories that fishermen passed down through the generation. He had always laughed at his father's insistence that there were seals that could take the form of maidens, but now he had undeniable proof. Gaston's mind wandered to the other part of the tales. The selkies brought good luck and magic, both to fishing and to simple household tasks. His father had whispered to him of the wonders of a selkie wife if he ever got his hands on her sealskin, easy wealth, an obedient wife who would be unable to tell him no. If his mother overheard, she never did anything more than roll her eyes. These were just stories and her son wouldn't need to steal an animal's pelt to marry well; in her eyes he could do no wrong.

After the war, there was no chance of marrying well. Gaston was one of the few eligible men left in the village but instead of taking advantage of the women willing to throw themselves at his feet, Gaston took advantage of the bottle. It was enough to blur the memories; even war couldn't seem too bad when you were drunk off your rocker. The only problem was now, none of the woman in the village would marry him, their families fearing his wasteful ways and the girls fearing his temper when he was drunk. Someone who couldn't run, who might be able to make his nightmares stop and the fishing boat booming again would definitely be someone to wait for. From the way she was locking lips with the village coward, he wouldn't be waiting long.  

* * *

 Bae had been shocked and happy to see her at their cottage when he woke up. He was the only one who had even made it to bed last night. Rumplestiltskin and Belle had hardly moved from their spot at the kitchen table. Belle's presence was what brought up the question of Milah.  

Rumplestiltskin's face lightened a few shades but he only motioned to his lap. Bae scampered on to it, careful to not jostle his bad leg too badly.

"Mama's not coming home, is she?" Bae's voice was small, but not frightened. It only sounded like he was confirming something that he'd thought would happen for a long time.

"No she's not," Rumplestiltskin was cautious with his words, not willing to say more than he had to, slightly worried he would speak ill of the dead.

"What I'd do wrong? Why didn't she want to stay?"

The question was so earnest. Rumplestiltskin let out a broken sigh, "Oh Bae. You're Mama loved you very much. She didn't want to leave I promise. Some pirates came by the tavern last night. They weren't very nice people these pirates, were willing to kill and kidnap."

Fear froze Bae's eyes wide open. "They took Mama?"

Rumplestiltskin could only nod. Belle slipped her hand into one of his, lifting it to her face to press a kiss to the back of it.

Bae gave her a really stern look, "Are you staying?"

From his expression, she knew the answer had to be yes, but sitting in this little house, the first home she'd ever had that wasn't the sea, Belle knew she wouldn't have it any other way.  

Even though Belle wanted to be with Rumplestiltskin and Bae all the time, she couldn't. Until the wedding, when she handed over her pelt to him for safekeeping, Belle was forced to straddle her time between the two worlds. She spent most nights in the sea and days with her family, although sometimes that was reversed so she could fall asleep with Rumplestiltskin holding her or curled around Bae after telling him a bedtime story. Those days in seal form she spent playing in the waves with Bae.

Overall, it suited her. Belle needed time to say goodbye to her ocean friends, to convince her father that Rumplestiltskin was a good person, even if he was a human. There was enough time for Belle to learn how to fit in with the humans in lessons in the little cottage they would share and enough time for the village to finish grieving Milah. The family felt no need to rush. Things would happen when they did. That didn't make them any less of a family in the mean time.

It had been just an ordinary day when she felt it. The burning sensation sent her to her knees. Bae tried to help her up, but he was too small and she didn’t want him to be here when it happened.   Belle kissed him on the top of the head, refusing to let the tears fall in case the thief who had her pelt could see her.

“Go tell your Papa, someone found it and that I’m sorry.” 

He mutely shook his head.

“Please Bae, I can’t have you getting hurt. Just run ahead to the cottage, Rumplestiltskin should be able to help me,” Belle tried to keep all the fear out of her voice as she commanded her son in all but blood to let her meet her fate alone.

She wished Rumplestiltskin were here, wished it with every fiber of her being. Belle needed to keep her wits about her if she was going to get her skin back, but right now all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and wait for the pain to pass.   She already hated whoever held her pelt. Their foul intentions blistered her back.   She needed Rumplestiltskin to tell her everything was okay, to take back her skin, to just hold her.   Anything he did, Belle was sure, would help the pain go away.

She heard the footsteps before she saw him, his weathered boots crushing twigs as he walked closer.

"Well, looks like I won Princess."  

Belle froze; she remembered that voice. Rumplestiltskin had hit him over the head with his cane. Gaston had nearly won, even when he was running on nothing but brute strength and courage in a bottle. He seemed to know what he was doing now. Gaston held her skin just out of reach, on display in his hands where she could see it.  

"No!" Belle couldn't stop the cry from slipping from her mouth. She didn't see a point of being brave right now. She was bound, bound to this gruesome beast in front of her. She couldn't resist him anymore than she could change into a seal on the spot without her pelt.

Gaston only glowered. "You're nothing more than an animal, but," he ran a greasy finger down the side of her face, "an animal should be enough to satisfy me."  

"I'll do whatever you want if you just let me go,” her begging sounded pathetic even to her own ears, but Belle had to try something. If he hadn't heard the tales, she might just win.

Gaston only laughed. "You have to do whatever I want anyway.   I have this. Nice try Princess. I know what sort of scum, I'm dealing with."  

"Then you know I can't perform magic when I'm separated from my pelt." It was a complete lie. The small magic she could do, guide her toward fish, cure minor ills, sense danger, didn't disappear when her sealskin was out of reach.   But Belle would do anything at this point, and it was easier for her to imagine that all Gaston cared about was some magic she could supposedly do.

"That's not how this works. It's my say to do with you what I please, as long as I have the pelt, you are mine." Gaston flashed his immaculate teeth in a threatening smile.  

Belle tried to think of options, any options. Was this how her mother had died? Bound in the hands of a monster? She couldn't go the same way; she had so much to live for now. Her father wouldn't look for her either. Belle had stormed out of the last argument they had, one where he was dead set on her not marrying the beastly human.   Well, in a way he was getting what he wanted, Belle was trapped, unable to marry Rumplestiltskin, but Gaston was the type of human her Papa was imagining and Gaston had earned the title of Beast. From her first night in the village to the paralyzing panic she felt as he clutched the pelt. 

Just as Belle was going to accept that this was the end, she heard the unmistakable thud of the cane against the dirt and the thundering only child feet could produce. Her family was coming for her and they could save her where she wasn’t able. She felt Rumplestiltskin’s calloused hand brush away the sweat on her face; he reached lower checking for a pulse.

Belle tried not to lean into the comforting touch. She coughed out, “I’m fine, just go get it,” intent on making sure he knew what had to be done. The six words cost her tremendously.

Rumplestiltskin had never considered himself a brave man. Ostracized from the villagers, it hadn’t taken him long to accept what they whispered, that he was a coward, a sniffling little man who wouldn’t amount to anything just like his father before him. But looking at Belle’s prone form and Bae hurling rocks at the monster trying to take her from them, for the first time in his life, he felt truly brave.

Raising his cane as high as he could, Rumplestiltskin tried to duplicate his earlier treatment of a then very drunk Gaston, but this time the taller man wasn’t falling for it. Apparently he had to be very drunk to let a cripple knock him out.  

Gaston stepped backwards, brandishing Belle’s pelt in the air.   “If I can’t have her, I don’t see why anyone else can.”  

Belle wanted to scream that she was not some price to be won, but then Gaston began to tear the soft skin of her pelt and she knew this was what agony felt like. She couldn’t stop screaming even if she wanted to; her shoulder hung at an awkward angle, ripped clean out of its socket. Belle could only stare at it in horror, watch the blood drip on to the dirt. But even that didn’t last and slowly her eyes fluttered shut.  

* * *

 When Belle opened her eyes, she wondered if she was dead. There was a warmth spreading across her whole body comforting her from the inside out. She was lying on a surface much too soft to be coral. It was the smell that had her nearly leaping with joy. There was the woods, the wool, and the cinnamon that Bae liked on his breakfast. Belle let out a sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She was home.

Belle had barely relished in her safety when her world came crashing down her again. She frantically felt around for her pelt, too dizzy to even sit up. Belle came up empty handed and couldn’t suppress the sob that stole from her. She’d have to leave. It wasn’t safe for them. Her cries seemed to summon her love. Rumplestiltskin was by her side in an instant, checking bandages, temperatures, anything that could have caused her cry.   Belle couldn’t watch him like this.   She couldn’t stay; she’d break him.

Belle tried to sit up. “I’ll have to go to him. Rumplestiltskin I love you but he has the control over me I can’t hurt you if that’s what he wants. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you or-”  

“Shhh, Belle, it’s alright.” Rumplestiltskin cradled her in his arms until she stopped shaking. He then dug through the only locked chest they had, pushing aside blankets and old baby clothes. He pulled it out slowly, treating it with so much love and care, she could feel the reverberations on her current body.   “I have it. You’re safe. He’s never going to be able to hurt you again.”  

He draped the skin over the blankets so she could get a better look. “I had to stitch the tear he made. You were bleeding and I thought this would stop it. I just couldn’t let-“

“Rumplestiltskin,” Belle whispered as she ran her fingers over the stitching, “it’s perfect.”   But she wasn’t only talking about his needlework. He had found her, protected her when the worst was happening. Rumplestiltskin had saved her and brought her home. It was truly the perfect ending.

Or, Belle reconsidered as Bae ran through the cottage covered in dirt and screaming about the fireflies in the woods, the perfect beginning.

 


End file.
